PUTRAJAYA, Feb 8 — The rights and freedom of speech enshrined in the Federal Constitution are not absolute, the Court of Appeal ruled today.
As a result, statements made by Karpal Singh at a press conference in 2009 about Sultan Azlan Shah of Perak in relation to the political crisis in the state at the time, exceeded the boundaries permitted by the law and amounted to sedition.
This is despite the fact that Karpal (picture) in his capacity as a Member of Parliament and lawyer has the right to make political comments and express his views on the Constitution and the law, a 105-page judgment by Justice Datuk Ahmad Ma’arop added.
The Star Online reported Justice Ahmad as ruling the freedom of speech as enshrined in the Constitution meant a person had the right to speak, write or publish anything he liked so long as he does not break the law.
He also said the prosecution only needed to prove that the words uttered by Karpal could be deemed seditious — and not that they had led to an actual act of violence or an adverse reaction.
The news portal also quoted Justice Ahmad as saying it is immaterial as to whether Karpal’s statements were grounded in fact or not.
On January 20, Justice Ahmad, who presided over a three-man bench of the Court of Appeal, ordered Karpal to enter his defence on a charge of uttering seditious words against Sultan Azlan Shah of Perak during a press conference in 2009.
The panel, which also comprised justices Datuk Clement Allan Skinner and Datuk Seri Mohamed Apandi Ali set aside the Kuala Lumpur High Court’s decision on June 11, 2010 to acquit and discharge Karpal from the sedition charge without calling for his defence.
Karpal was charged with uttering the seditious words at his legal firm in Jalan Pudu Lama in Kuala Lumpur between 12pm and 12.30pm on February 6, 2009.
He is alleged to have said that the removal of Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin as mentri besar of Perak by the sultan could be questioned in a court of law.
The charge under section 4(1)(b) of the Sedition Act carries a maximum RM5,000 fine or three years’ jail, or both if convicted.
The Appeals Court, on January 20, also fixed tomorrow for mention of the case at the High Court.
In his judgment, Justice Ahmad said the panel did not accept Karpal’s submission that Section 3(1)(f) of the Sedition Act 1948, which makes questioning the rights and privileges of rulers an offence, was against the Federal Constitution.
Justice Ahmad further held the panel were in no doubt that the press conference was called with the hope that the proceedings would be reported.
He said Karpal at the press conference had repeatedly uttered words that clearly inferred the Sultan of Perak had broken the law, did not follow the law and did not respect the law.
Posts
0 comments:
Post a Comment